


as long as I breathe, I will remember you

by witchesandragons



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Gen, Mentions of Violence, Non-Graphic Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2019-01-17 17:52:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12370902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/witchesandragons/pseuds/witchesandragons
Summary: “The war for the Regent,” said the letter. “We keep the kingdom and you can keep your Regent.”He wanted to say ‘yes’. He would gladly let it all go if it meant to have his Regent back.*AU where Henry is a king trying to take his kingdom back, Regina is the regent that gave up everything for him and Mal is in the middle of everything.





	as long as I breathe, I will remember you

**Author's Note:**

> I kind of hurt Regina a lot here... Sorry

Henry wanted to say ‘yes’ to the proposal.

“The war for the Regent,” said the letter. “We keep the kingdom and you can keep your Regent.”

He wanted to say ‘yes’. He would gladly let it all go if it meant to have his Regent back, but Queen Snow disagreed, so did Queen Abigail, King David, The Merry Men, Princess Emma, The Pirates and King Poseidon. Henry was the only one who would be in peace while saying ‘yes’ to that proposal.

“One person for an entire kingdom?” said Aurora during the meeting. “Nobody would be dumb enough to say yes.”

Henry bowed his head and clenched his fists. He didn’t notice Emma’s eyes on him or Queen Snow‘s head tilt.

“Let me think,” said Queen Snow in a decisive tone. “I want to wait for Maleficent’s return.”

“It’s a silly request,” said Robin with his brows furrowed. “The only answer is no.”

“We may be able to use this as leverage somehow.”

King David asked for a recess until Maleficent arrived and Henry was the first one to leave the tent. He walked aimlessly for a while, and then he decided to sit under a tree and think. He needed to think.

Two years ago, his Regent told him to run, to run as fast as he could to Queen Snow’s kingdom and ask for her help. Two years ago, he left everything and everyone he knew in the hands of a crazy, power-hungry man. Two years ago, he started a quest and now, all he wanted was to rest. He needed a long sleep, preferably on his bed, in his bedroom; he wanted to eat his cook’s food and to hear his maidens sing; he wanted to see his old tutor again and apologize for giving him a hard time sometimes; he wanted to rule his kingdom like he was raised to do: with justice and fairness, but most of all, he wanted to see his Regent again, he wanted to hug her tight and never let go.

But how could he explain that to that army? To all that kings and queens and warriors? “I dragged you all into this war, but now I want to give everything up so I can have my Regent back?” They wouldn’t laugh, of that he was sure, but he would have to hear the speech of “duty” and how sometimes kings and queens had to take hard decisions. He knew that, he was trying to take this decision right now, but he felt awful inside; something inside his chest told him that not saving the Regent would hurt much more than he imagined.

Again, what could he do?!

Two huge shadows eclipsed the camp and Henry looked up with a small smile. Maleficent and Lily landed and many soldiers screamed their names. For a moment, he thought in running to them and begging Maleficent to help him to convince Queen Snow and the others that saving his Regent was the most important thing to do, after all Maleficent and his Regent were friends, right? The only reason why Maleficent didn’t eat him when he, by accident, got lost in her territory was because she knew who he was. She didn’t care he was the King, she didn’t care that the man who conquered his kingdom would give _anything_ for Henry’s head, no, all Maleficent cared about was _who_ raised him, everything she cared about was his Regent and that’s why she helped, that’s why she still helped.

Lily got lost in the sea of soldiers, but Maleficent, tall and scary, went straight to Queen Snow’s tent. Henry wondered what Maleficent’s reaction would be to the ‘silly proposal’ and if it would hurt her as much as it hurt him.

Anyway, he had to plan something. Maybe he could _use_ the proposal! Maybe he could offer himself for her… Would that be accepted by that monster? Henry was scared with the mere idea of being in that man’s presence, but his Regent had been in his grasp for years now. The fear was suddenly replaced by anger. Was his Regent suffering? Were they hurting her badly? Were they torturing her? Were they feeding her? His Regent was extremely demanding about her food (and his by extension) and he tried not to imagine her cold in a lonely cell, without proper clothes, without food, bleeding, hurting, suffering… He shivered. Yes, he would give himself for her anytime. She suffered so much for him; he could suffer for her too.

In his kingdom, it was a tradition for every king or queen to have a Regent. Henry’s father had a Regent, Gold something and he was considered the best Regent his kingdom ever had (Henry disagreed), but when the King and Queen died and Henry was merely two years old, the Regent quit. He simply said that his job was to guide kings and not to raise children, and that they should call him once Henry was old enough to learn from him. His Regent took the job then. She cared for him, she taught him and she loved him. When he was old enough, he rejected his Father’s Regent, after all, Henry had everything he needed: A Regent that was loyal enough to protect him in his most vulnerable form and to love him even though he made it hard sometimes (he was spoiled, he knew, but it was his Regent the one responsible for any kind, good or sensible part that made him a boy instead of just a King).

Now that same boy wanted to take a decision no King should.

“I was looking for you.”

He raised his head in surprise, failing to notice anyone approaching him. Maleficent, the dragon, sat near him. Both stared at the camp.

“I suppose you know about the proposal,” stated Maleficent with a low voice.

Henry nodded.

“What do you want to do?”

For him, the answer was obvious.

“I want to save her,” he said. “But I know why Queen Snow wouldn’t want to risk it. He’s too dangerous and—“

“I’ll save her.”

He looked at her.

“Really?!”

“I told Snow so.”

“She’ll accept the proposal?”

Maleficent denied.

“Then how are we going to save her?”

“We’re going to win this war.”

“It won’t work out. When we say no, he will have no reason to keep her alive!”

“I know.”

“Then how?!”

“We’re going to win this war.”

“But how?!”

“By fire.”

 

 

Two weeks later, the war was over.

Exactly like Maleficent promised.

His kingdom was destroyed, but his people were calling his name. It hurt him. They were hurt, scared, starving, _miserable._ That monster hurt them _so much_ and he deserved to have suffered more, _he did._

Maleficent and Queen Snow were close to him because it was a mess. There were soldiers (theirs and the monsters’) running around, some were being arrested, others were being killed; there was smoke and screaming and crying and laughing everywhere, at once. There were people screaming his name in relief and others in hate.

It was overwhelming.

“My King!” it was his Advisor. An old and short man whose belly was bigger than anything Henry could remember. He obviously didn’t starve. “We were so worried! How are you? Are you hurt?”

His fake concern made Henry angry. That man was obviously one of the cowards who bowed to the monster who called himself a god. He would take care of him later.

“Where’s my Regent?”

The man paled, he took some steps backwards.

“He asked you a question,” said Maleficent approaching him. Her blue eyes were cold and animalistic.

He gagged. Henry felt Snow’s hands on his shoulder.

“Advisor,” her voice was calm, but cold. “Your king asked you a question.”

Before the man could answer, David and Robin appeared in the throne room. Everything was a mess with people running everywhere, but Henry could see clearly the two men’s faces. His heart stopped.

“We found your Regent,” said David. His face was bleeding and his sword was red. Robin crossed his arms behind him. “Robin’s men were searching the dungeons and we found where he kept his prisoners.” He hesitated.

“I’ll go see it,” said Maleficent. Her voice was cold and detached. Henry felt betrayed all of sudden.

“I’ll go too!” he said, but Snow stopped him.

“You’re a king, Henry. Your people need you now. We’ll see her later, ok?”

He hated being a king in that moment. Maleficent grabbed the Advisor and forced him to accompany her. Robin avoided Henry’s look and went to look for his men.

Everything else was like a blur. He had people trying to explain themselves to him, his army swearing loyalty to him (again), all the kingdom’s advisors whispering in his ears about what happened (they blamed each other while swearing they had nothing to do with it themselves), the nobles were told to return to the kingdom and Queen Snow helped to do all that. His Regent was the one supposed to guide him, yet she was not there…

“I want to see her,” he said. It’s been a day since his return, he hadn’t seen his Regent nor Maleficent. “When can I see her?”

David cleaned his throat.

“You see, Henry, Snow…” he gulped when she glared at him. “We, Snow and I, we don’t think you should see her yet.”

“Why not?”

David tried to come up with nice words. The rest of the room was silent. He knew they all had seen her or at least knew what was going on. He felt his heart beating faster and _he was angry,_ he wanted to scream at them.

“I’m a King!” he said a little louder than he wanted to. “I’m a king and I can handle whatever happened to her.”

But it was a lie because he couldn’t handle it. His Regent raised him to be a King as much as to be a boy and right now, he knew the boy inside him was terrified of what happened to her.

Emma was the only one actually looking at him and for the first time, he realized she was alone, Lily wasn’t by her side. As a matter of fact, he hadn’t seen Lily at all even though he was sure she was around.

“He’s right,” said Emma. “He deserves to know.”

He always admired Princess Emma, Queen Snow’s younger sister, and now he felt a deep understanding between them. Emma told him once that she still resented Snow for not telling her about their mother’s disease, her mother was dying and Emma knew it too late. She was bitter about it because she didn’t use their little time together more meaningfully.

“Emma—,“ started Queen Snow.

“No, Snow,” she glared at her sister and then looked at Henry. “Look, kid, you know how important she was, right? Not just to you, but to the kingdom. That monster couldn’t just leave her around, she was too dangerous.”

He understood that. He wished he didn’t, but he did.

“He hurt her, Henry,” said Emma. Snow threatened Emma again, but she didn’t stop. “He hurt her _badly_.”

He swallowed with difficulty. The room was heavy and nobody was eating. He felt eyes on him, but he only looked at Emma whose eyes were begging him to be strong.

“How bad?” he asked.

“She’s still alive,” answered Emma forcing a small smile. “She is alive and you can breathe, but she’s hurt. Mal and Lily are trying to help.”

“I want to see her.” He said one more time.

“Henry,” said Snow. Her voice was sweet and controlled. “I don’t think you should see her.”

Emma went to interfere, but David told her not to talk to Snow like that again.

“Why not? I want to see her.”

Snow looked at him and he saw _pain_ in her eyes.

“Because I _can’t_ see her like that.” She hesitated for a moment. “It hurts me to see her like that and it’ll destroy you. I think you should wait until Maleficent makes some progress.”

Maleficent loved his Regent less than he did and he loved her more than Snow did. He deserved to see, he deserved to help her.

“My Regent took care of me when I was too small to do anything. She fed me, cleaned me, helped me when I was too helpless; she taught me everything I know. When I was sick, she would stay all night with me. Always patient and always kind. If she’s hurt, I want to take care of her; I want to help. Please, let me help her. Nobody loves her more than I do.”

“You may regret this, you know?” said Snow. “You have no idea what she had to endure.”

“For me,” he said determined. “She had to endure it all for me. Don’t you think it’s fair for me to endure it for her?”

 

Queen Snow and Emma went with him.

His Regent was being kept in her old chambers and the entire hall was surrounded by Maleficent’s guards and protection spells.

“Lily said her mother isn’t allowing a single mosquito near your Regent,” said Emma with a smile while they passed the armed guards.

“Good,” he said.

Henry was nervous. He felt every fiber in his body tense while they walked that hall. Snow had said again that his Regent was “really hurt” and if “he was really prepared to see her”. He said ‘yes’, but he doubted it. Not all time in the world would prepare him to see her hurt, nothing would, but he had to see her. If Maleficent was taking care of her, he wanted to help, he _needed to help._

“How do you know my Regent?” asked Henry during their small trip. He knew that Queen Snow was or had been his Regent’s friend, but the war had taken time from any meaningful talk they could have.

Queen Snow took a deep breath. Emma stared straight ahead pretending she wasn’t listening.

“She went to our kingdom’s university,” said Queen Snow with calculated words. “She was brilliant and my father always made sure to meet every Strategical Politics student.”

“And you became friends?”

Queen Snow nodded, a little hesitant.

“She was an Alchemy student, but she aced Politics. She was young and beautiful. We became friends. I was lonely then. Mother had just died, Emma was angry at me, father was getting old and I was the heir of the White kingdom, you know? You’re royalty, so you know how lonely it can get.”

He knew.

“She disappeared once for an entire month and when she returned, she was different… Lighter. I knew she was in love, it was so obvious and I… Well, I envied her a little but I was happy for her. She had a hard life and no family, she deserved someone who loved her.”

“But why I never met you before all this mess?” he asked. “If you were friends, I was supposed to know you, right?”

He knew Maleficent had come to his kingdom in his childhood, he heard whispers about her, but Snow…

She sighed.

“My father was a lonely man as well. He was getting old, mother, his best friend, died and Emma avoided both of us. And Regina? Well, she was beautiful, she got along with me, Emma didn’t hate her … She wasn’t Eva, my mother, but she was better than any noblewomen he knew.”

“He fell in love with her.” Henry completed.

Emma scoffed.

“More like ‘in obsession’ with her.”

Snow agreed.

“She denied him, of course. She never wanted to be queen and I told you, she was in love. But my father was a spoiled man, he was the King, he was used to get what he wanted, so he kept pursuing her.”

Emma scoffed again.

“More like ‘stalking’ her.”

Henry kind of knew what happened then.

“She… Regina complained about that to me,” said Snow. “She admitted she was in love with someone else and she told me she was going to leave the White Kingdom, that she had a good opportunity in another university, in Midas’s kingdom. She was to be an alchemy professor, you know?”

Henry knew that. His Regent constantly went to speeches and meetings with other alchemists.

“I was upset with her. So, when my father asked about her, I let the truth slip and he did what every spoiled man with power would do: he made her opportunity disappear. She was so upset and when she found out that it was my fault, she… Well, she screamed at me and left all the same. The next time I heard about her was when she was declared your Regent, but she refused to answer any of my personal letters, so I gave up.”

Henry nodded. So, this was her chance of redemption... He wanted to say something, but Emma called Lily and anything he had to say died in his throat.

The Regent’s chamber was being protected by Lily herself and she smiled when she saw them.

“Emma!” she said with happiness, but when she saw Henry, her smiled faded. “Little King.”

He tried to smile, but he couldn’t, so he nodded.

“He came to see her,” said Emma.

Lily was uncomfortable.

“Are you sure?” she looked at Snow, who nodded. “Are you sure?” she looked at Henry. “She’s not okay.”

“I know,” he said. There was a lump inside his throat and he wanted to run away, but his legs stopped him.

Lily sighed.

“Look, I don’t know her, I have no connections to her, but it breaks my heart to see her like that. Sometimes I think my _Mom_ will break. So I ask you again: are you sure?”

Henry nodded.

“She needs me.”

So, Lily opened the door.

 

Maleficent wasn’t alone with his Regent.

There were three doctors, one nurse, a mage and one fairy. He only knew the fairy – Tinker Bell, she was his Regent’s friend. She was worried, they all were. They were reunited in a small circle and they didn’t notice Henry entering the bedroom followed by Snow.  Emma decided to stay with Lily: “if we all go there, Maleficent will _flip.”_ But Henry noticed how uncomfortable she was and he wondered if he was truly ready to see what made even Emma hesitant.

Lily closed the door silently.

They were whispering and Henry could see what was going on. Tink’s eyes were red; the mage and the doctors were choosing words carefully, the nurse was consoling Tink and Maleficent was hearing everything with a stone-cold face, her eyes were _hard_ and her lips were pressed into a thin line. She had no expression on her face. The whispering ceased when one of the doctors noticed him, but nobody said a word.

He looked around. Her chambers had remained pretty much the same. The ante-room was the same, with the hundreds books around, many paintings coloring the walls, the small table with an open book and an empty cup of tea near it; her glasses were carefully on the book. He swallowed hard. There was a little room whose door was open: her bedroom… and there was the bed, her bed.

He ignored the stares.

“She’s inside her bedroom,” said Snow with a very soft voice. “If you want to see her, now it’s time.”

He nodded.

“I’ll be right back,” he said somehow. His mind wasn’t there, no, he wasn’t in that small room full of tension, he was in his own chambers, sick and tired. He was six again.

His Regent smiled at him when he said again how much he hated the medication.

“It’s for your own good, my king. Please.”

He crossed his arms and tried to imitate her poise (he saw her arguing with his advisors, nobles and merchant and they would usually bend to her wishes when she crossed her arms and looked at them with her ‘scary eyes’), but inside the covers,  he was sure his poise didn’t scare her. She was still smiling, still kind.

“Come on, Henry. It’s for your own good.”

“Don’t wanna.”

“Henry.”

“Only if you read to me.”

“Of course. Now, please?”

He took the medication and a cup of water, and then she read for him. He was too tired to stay awake until the end, but he asked her not to go, he asked her to stay with him, so she did. He woke up in the middle of the night and she was sleeping rather uncomfortably on a chair near him.

She stayed.

There was someone on his Regent’s bed. The small room where her big bed reigned smelled like sickness, medication and blood. He felt his stomach turn. He noticed the hard whispers behind him, but he truly didn’t care.

He approached the bed.

His Regent was a beautiful woman. She wasn’t tall nor excessively thin like some noblewoman, but she was _alive._ There was fire in her eyes and she was intense. She demanded from him and from herself the very best. She had a beautiful face, short dark hair and a distinctive scar on her upper lip. That’s the image he has of her, a short, but powerful woman who could make grown men bend. But the person on that bed wasn’t how he remembered his Regent.

He felt bile rising up to his throat and he hated how weak he was. He felt anger, disgust and hate _hate hate._ Henry only noticed the tears when they ran down his face.

“What they did to you?”

The woman on the bed was sick. She was terribly thin (a skeleton with skin); her hair was falling (there were bald spots on her scalp) and they didn’t shine like they once did; her lips were busted; her skin was pale and sickly, full of marks and small cuts. Yet she was sleeping peacefully. He looked at the small desk near the bed and yes, there was enough sleep potion there for a small army. He tried to clean his tears, but it was useless because they kept falling.

He wanted to hold her hand, the hurt hand on the bed full of marks (the fingers had been broken and healed, he wondered if Mal had done it), her wrists were covered in angry red and purple marks and he noticed she didn’t have the ring anymore, her family relic, the ring her father gave to her when she was still a young girl. He touched the hand at the same time a small hiccup left his mouth.

At least, she was still warm.

Someone touched his shoulder and he tried to control his sobbing.

“She’ll wake up anytime now. You shouldn’t be here when that happens.”

He denied.

“I’m staying,” he sniffed and used his shirt to clean his tears.

“No, you aren’t.”

He turned to Maleficent without letting go of his Regent’s hands.

“She needs me!”

The woman on the bed moved, but remained asleep. Henry apologized.

“But she needs me.”

Maleficent took a deep breath.

“Henry, she’s not okay.”

“I know that!”

“No, you don’t. Her mind is as broken as her body. She’s struggling to remember who she is. She won’t know you.”

“Why?”

“When someone gets… hurt too much, too often, their minds shut down to protect them. That’s what happened.”

“Her mind is broken too?”

Maleficent nodded.

“She doesn’t let us heal her.”

“Then heal her when she’s sleeping!”

Maleficent tilted her head.

“And break her trust further?”

He bowed his head.

“I just want her to be okay.”

“I know.”

He turned to the sleeping woman one more time.

“What will happen if she sees me?”

“Maybe nothing, but so far, she screamed every time someone approaches her.”

“Even you?”

“Especially me.”

They stared at the sleeping woman.

“She seems peaceful,” said Henry. “I really want to stay.”

“I know you do, but we need time and you need to rebuild this kingdom.”

“But—!”

“Don’t you think it’d make her happy? You being the king she always wanted you be and your kingdom being again something great?”

“But I want to help.”

“You will, just not now. When she gets a little better, then I’ll ask for your help. Now, my boy, you have a kingdom to rebuild.”

He let go of her hand.

“Can I come when she’s sleeping then? When she’s like this? I can read for her or tell her about my day.”

“Yes, I’ll let you know when it’s time.”

He nodded and kissed his Regent’s forehead.

On his way out, he looked at those men and women.

“She’s the most important person in my life,” he said with a hard voice. “I don’t care what you have to do, but _you will_ help her.”

“Yes, your majesty!”

And he left.

 

*

Henry only saw Maleficent again after one week.

She seemed exhausted. There were small scratches on her writs and her eyes were _sad._

“She’s still violent when we try to touch her,” explained Maleficent to him and Snow while they had tea. “She seems to trust me a little, but she still has flashes, memories from the last two years and when that happens, she turns to violence.”

“Your wrists,” said Snow. “She did those?”

Maleficent nodded.

“I was trying to calm her, but she’s… scared and hurting.”

“Is she eating?”

“A little, but her stomach gets upset very often.”

Henry swallowed hard and suddenly, his tea wasn’t so appealing anymore.

“She likes tea,” he said. “And coffee.”

“I know,” said Maleficent. “She refuses coffee, the mere smell makes her sick, but we can make her drink tea.”

“Good,” he licked his lips. “When can I see her?”

“Soon.”

 

Yet, soon never arrived.

After the first month, he got impatient. He knew Maleficent tended to meet Lily for dinner, or better, Lily forced her to leave the castle to hunt. If Maleficent was out, the only one that could stop him was Tink (because fairies like dragons didn’t care about kings and queens, they did what had to be done even if they had to deny the desires of a King), so he had to send her out as well.

The opportunity came from Queen Snow herself. She asked for Tink’s presence in a meeting and it coincided with the time Lily and Maleficent went to hunt, so when he was sure they were out, he went to his Regent’s chambers.

The nurse had just left when he approached the door and he smiled to himself. She was also hard to demand things from, but the doctors? They were _easy._ He entered the chambers and when the doctors tried to talk to him, he used his best ‘king voice’ and demanded to be left alone. They bowed and obeyed.

He went to her bedroom and she was sleeping, as he had imagined. Maleficent would never leave her alone if she was awake. He looked at the desk and there was just a small flask of sleeping potion, which meant she was sleeping better without it. He approached the bed and examined her.

She was still thin, but better than the first time he saw her; it didn’t seem like she was a skeleton anymore and he was _so relieved_. Her face seemed more peaceful then before and her hair seemed to be growing again. The small cuts and angry marks were healed, her hand was less bony and her fingers didn’t seem to have been terribly broken. She was far from healthy, but away from death, so it was okay, it was excellent.

When he looked at her face again, brown eyes stared at him. He smiled, so _happy_ , but her expression was _terrified._ She screamed.

“It’s me!” he said. “It’s me! Henry! You raised me, you love me! It’s me!”

But she still screamed and screamed. Someone seized him by the shoulders and dragged him outside, while the doctors and Maleficent tried to calm her down. He fought against Lily’s arms, but he could see her still screaming and fighting the doctors. She did punch one of them until Maleficent hugged her and started to whisper things in her ear. Lily stopped dragging him. They both watched when she stopped screaming and slowly closed her eyes.

“You’re safe.” They heard Maleficent say. “You’re safe.”

The nurse arrived in that moment with a bowl of soup and Maleficent asked her to approach. The doctors left the room murmuring about broken noses and violence. Maleficent detached herself from the woman who hugged her own knees and whispered to the nurse.

“She’s agitated. If she gives you a hard time, call me.”

And to his Regent:

“I’m just outside, ok?”

The woman didn’t answer. Maleficent bended and kissed her head.

They all left and the door was closed.

Maleficent told the doctors to take a break and turned to Henry.

“What were you thinking?! I told you she’s not okay right now.”

“I wanted to see her.”

“She barely got used to us and she sees us every day!”

“Maybe if I saw her every day, she would be used to me too!”

Maleficent sighed.

“I’m trying to protect you.”

“Don’t! I don’t need protection from her!”

“You don’t know what you are talking about.”

“I don’t because you don’t let me see her!”

She massaged her temples. She was losing her patience and Lily interfered.

“Mom, why don’t you talk to him?”

“I’m doing this.”

“No, really talk to him. Does he even know how you two meet? Just… Talk to him, ok?”

Maleficent looked at the door and then at Henry, who crossed his arms.

“Fine.”

They went to the balcony. Henry could see his training area and he remembered the many times he got beaten by his sword tutor in that same place and how he wanted to quit every time, only to give up when he looked up to that same balcony where his Regent was always watching him.

“How did you know I was here?” he asked, because he was sure his plan was perfect.

“I put a protection spell here to warn me if you got too close without my knowledge. I came as fast as I could.”

“Oh.”

They stood there in silence for a while. She sighed.

“We were lovers,” said Maleficent looking at the empty training area.

Henry nodded. It was obvious.

“Do you know why she left me?”

He looked at her and she looked at him.

“Because of you.”

He nodded slowly refusing to make any judgment before she could explain. But he did notice the slight bitterness in her tone.

“When she assumed the post as your Regent, I knew things would be hard for her. I don’t think you remember, but you were very demanding of her time. Not only had she to take care of you, she also had to rule this kingdom.” A pause. “Do you have any idea how many people tried to overthrown you?”

No, he didn’t. That thought never crossed his mind.

“When she wasn’t being your guardian, she was playing the game of thrones to make sure nobody would take your rightfully place. When she wasn’t playing the game of thrones, she was ruling, making sure this kingdom would be successful for you. When she wasn’t ruling, she was mine.”

“Why did she leave you? She could do it all, right?”

“No, she couldn’t.” A sigh. “Regina may look like she can do everything at once, but in the end, she’s still human, she still had limitations. One day, I took her away from the castle, she always liked to fly, so I took her with me just for a moment, just so she could be a human for a little while.”

Henry waited. Maleficent closed her eyes for a moment.

“When we came back, she found you with one of your advisors. You were hiding from him and crying, begging her to not let him near you. He had hit you and you had bruises all over your arm. She was so furious. After that, she told me she couldn’t see me again. I was a distraction and she couldn’t have that, she had to take care of you and only that.”

He swallowed hard and turned his eyes to the arena again.

“So you hate me?”

“Did I ever treat you like I hated you?”

“No?”

“No.”

“Then why don’t you let me see her?”

“I’m merely doing what I think she would like.”

“By not letting me see her?”

A pause. She opened her mouth to talk, but shook her head.

“Henry, I know you love her, you know I love her. So I know how much it hurts when she looks at us and sees _nothing_. She lets me hug her now, but until a couple days ago, she hit me, screamed at me and was terrified from even hearing my voice. It _killed_ me, you know? I cried more times this past month than what I did in all my life and I’m _old._ ”

“She screamed like she did today?”

“More, gods, much more. I just wanted to spare you. I know Regina, she would never want you to see her like this, she would never want to hurt you like that and you’d be hurt.”

“How are you so sure? I could help.”

“Could you? Sometimes I felt like I couldn’t help. She was terrified of my presence, so I couldn’t do much. Tink seemed to make her calm, but it was probably her fairy aura. It was hard to make her eat and not to throw up, believe it or not, I saw more vomit this month than I saw my entire life. Besides, you needed to focus on the kingdom. Snow won’t stay here forever and I wanted you to learn from her before you took the reign on your own.”

“My father’s Regent is here. Snow wants me to take him.”

“It’s a good decision. He’s smart and you’ll need smart until everything calms down.”

“But I already have a Regent.”

“She’s not even talking yet, Henry. It’ll take months before she lets us in.”

“But you can help her, right?”

“It’s… Hard. If it was just physical, yes, I could heal her and she wouldn’t have a single scar, but it’s her mind that’s most broken and we can’t fix people’s mind. No matter how much we want it. Magic can help, but only to some extent.”

“She’ll never heal, that’s what you are telling me?”

“She’ll heal, but she’ll never be the Regina we knew again.”

There was loud noise inside the room, but before they could go, Lily’s voice echoed.

“It’s fine! The nurse let the trail fall, it’s okay!”

So they relaxed.

“I keep thinking…” said Henry. “I should’ve said yes to the proposal. We should’ve saved her sooner. I can’t help but to think it was my fault.”

“The only person that is to blame is that man and I killed him, remember? If I had known before, I’d have hurt him _plenty_ before killing him, but I blame myself too sometimes. I keep thinking I should’ve come here by myself, I should’ve burned everything and saved her.”

Henry nodded.

“I’ll say yes to Gold then. Will you stay, right?”

“Of course, nothing takes me from here before she’s okay.”

“And Lily?”

“She’s free spirit, but don’t worry, she considers your family already.”

“Good.”

 

Eight months after Henry took back his throne, Maleficent asked for his presence in his Regent— no, in Regina’s chambers. Gold told him to go even though they were discussing new laws and taxes.

“We can continue later.”

He had seen her more often these last days. She wasn’t screaming anymore, but she wasn’t talking either (only to Maleficent and only in very specific situations, but the doctors said it was _good thing_ , it meant she was healing), so he was hopeful when he entered her chambers that day. Lily was smiling like a fool (she said once that her mother’s love for Regina was infecting her) and told him to go her bedroom _quickly._

Regina was sitting on the bed with Maleficent near her, they were whispering when he entered the room. Regina looked at him and they stared at each other until she slowly smiled at him.

“He’s Henry,” said Maleficent softly. “Your boy.”

Regina looked at her and repeated:

“Hen-ry. Henry.”

“Yes.”

And they looked at him. Henry felt the tears in his eyes, but he only nodded.

“Come closer,” said Maleficent. “And talk to her. She was asking about you.”

And so he did. He sat on the edge of the bed and Regina touched his face.

“Henry,” she said again as if testing the name on her tongue or maybe just trying to remember who he was.

“Yes,” he said. “It’s me. Do you know who I am to you?”

 She hesitated, but nodded slowly.

“That man… He… He asked me about you,” she said slowly and it was so good to hear her voice again. He had to stop himself from crying. “But I didn’t say anything… Did I?”

“No,” he said. “You protected me until you couldn’t remember me anymore. You are so brave!”

She gave him a sad smile.

“I’m not brave anymore, my darling. I’m broken. They broke me and I couldn’t stop them.”

He really tried to stop the tears, but he couldn’t.

 “You’re brave. You’re the bravest person I know. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?”

“I couldn’t protect you. I’m not brave as you are.”

She hugged him.

“I missed you,” he said. “I missed you.”

Lily _totally_ didn’t cry while watching the scene.

 

One day, when Maleficent accompanied Henry to a meeting with a rival kingdom. Regina looked at Lily with wonder and said “you look _so much like your mother_ ” to which Lily answered: “I do not, not blonde, not blue eyes” and Regina smiled: “No, you look like _me_ in this form, I’m talking about your other form.”

She smiled like a fool for a while and then she frowned.

“Wait, I do _look_ like you.”

 

But that’s another story for another day.

 


End file.
